Firing mechanism



June 21, 1949. v. A. BROWNING 2,474,180

FIRING MECHANISM Original Filed Sept. 27, 1944 awe/Mm 7 VAL A. BROWNING Patented June 21, 1949 FIRING MECHANISM Val A. Browning, Ogden, Utah, assignor to J. M. & M. S. Browning Company, Ogden, Utah, a

corporation of Utah Original application September 27, 1944, Serial No. 555,949. Divided and this application tober 28, 1944, Serial No. 560,743

6 Claims.

This invention relates to firing or trigger mechanism for firearms.

The present application is a division of my application Serial No. 555,949, filed September 27, 1944, and entitled Firearms.

The general aim of the invention is to provide a firing mechanism having various features of novelty and advantage and which is particularly characterized by its simplicity in construction, its economy in manufacture, its durability, and by its reliability and eflfectiveness in operation.

More particularly, an object of the invention is to provide a very simple construction which may be economically manufactured, the same comprising a relatively few number of parts, some of which may be made by a punching operation.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved arrangement of this sort wherein the parts are so related and constructed that wear thereon, even after long usage, is negligible.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a trigger arrangement which will permit of a crisp action, the trigger having, when pulled, a relatively small movement.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved arrangement of a simple, economical character for securing the trigger plate to the receiver.

Other objects will be in part obvious and in part pointed out more in detail hereinafter.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction, combination of elements, and arrangement of parts which will be exemplified in the construction hereinafter set forth and the scope of the application of which will be indicated in the appended claims.

The following description will be more readily understood by reference to the accompanying drawings in which similar reference numerals refer to similar parts and in which Figure 1 is a side elevational View of a firing mechanism embodying the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view thereof, portions of the side walls of the receiver being shown in section;

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view through the firing mechanism, the same being taken substantially on line 3-3 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 4 is a sectional view through the rear end of the trigger plate and receiver, the same being taken substantially on line 44 of Fig. 2 and the receiver, in part, being shown in phantom.

Referring to the drawings, A denotes generally I a receiver of a firearm, only portions of which are shown as its particular construction is immaterial. The receiver has two side walls ll, between which is positioned a trigger plate I 2 which carries the trigger I3, a scar l4, and a hammer IS. The trigger plate is secured in position in the receiver in the novel manner shown in Figs. 2 and 4. As there shown, the lateral side faces of the trigger plate are provided with longitudinally extending semi-circular grooves l6 which register with, and are complementary to, semi-circular grooves I! provided in the opposed faces of the walls II of the receiver. The numerals l8 designate retaining pins. With this arrangement, in order to assemble the trigger plate and the receiver, it is merely necessary to bring the trigger plate to a position where the grooves l and I! register and then insert, from the rear, the retaining pins l8. These retaining pins are held against accidental withdrawal or displacement by means of the stock (not shown) which covers the ends of the pin openings when the firearm is fully assembled.

The trigger plate [2 has a central slot and is equipped with a suitable trigger guard 2 l. The hammer is pivotally mounted on a pin 22 carried by a pair of lugs 23 arising from the forward end of the trigger plate. The hammer is in the form of a plate which may be punched to the configuration shown. The hammer has on its free end a curved face provided with a scar notch 24 with which a tooth 25 on the lower end of the sear l4 co-acts for holding the hammer in cocked position. The hammer also has on its free end a notch 26 with which a hook or tooth 21 on the upper end of the sear is adapted to engage so as to prevent automatic firing of the gun in the event the trigger were held pulled after the previous firing.

In accordance with the present invention, the hammer, when released from the sear, is moved from cooked to firing position by two main springs 30 disposed at opposite sides of the hammer. These springs are carried by guide rods 3|, the forward ends of which extend into diametrically disposed openings 32 in a pin 33 carried by the hammer adjacent the pivot pin 22.

diametrically disposed openings 34 in a pin 35 mounted in forwardly facing semi-circular bearings 36 provided on the top of the trigger plate to opposite sides of the vertical plane of the hammer.

The rearends of these guide rods slidably extend through The rear ends of the main springs 30 bear against the pin 35 and their forward ends bear' The that they may both be taken from the same supply of stock. The pin 33 extends through and is journaled in a transverse hole in the hammer, and the pin 35 is journaled in the bearings 36 so that the pins may turn about their respective axes during the firing and'cocking movements of the hammer. Thus a smooth' action is had and excessive wear is prevented while, at the same time, a very simple structure, which may be readily assembled, is provided. By providing the hammer with two main springs disposed on opposite sides of the hammer, lateral cramping of the hammer and resultant strains on its pivot pin 22 are avoided, and also, this arrangement permits the sear and trigger to be located in the plane of, and behind, the hammer. It will be observed from Fig. 3 that when the hammer is in cocked position, the pin 33 is almost in, but slightly above, the line between the pivot pin 22 and the pin 35, and atthis time, the springs are exerting minimum leverage so that the sear may be readily disengaged fromthe hammer. When the hamtrier is released, the leverage exerted by the springs increases so that the hammer will strike the firing pin with the required force.

' The pin 35 is also employed for pivotally supporting the sear I4. The sear is pivoted between its ends on the pin 35 and, as stated, has the teeth 25 and 21 adapted to respectively engage the notches24 andj26 on the hammer. The trigger I3 is pivoted on a pin 40 which extends through the longitudinal slot in the trigger plate I2. The trigger has an upwardly extending arm 4| adapted to bear against the rear face of the sear at a point just above the pivotal point of the sear. It will be observed that the trigger is pivoted at a point below the pivot for the sear, that the trigger engages the sear slightly above the pivot pin 35 of the sear, and that the distance between the lower tooth of the scar and the pin is considerably greater than the distance between the pin 35 and the point of engagement of the trigger with the sear. Due to the compounding or multiplying action between the trigger and the sear thus provided, a relatively small movement of the triggerrearwardly will release the sear from the hammer when firing the gun while, at the same time, the sear has sufficient movement so as to permit the interlocking shoulders or notches on the sear and hammer to be of sufficient size or extent to be safe and durable.

As most clearly shown in Fig. 3, the sear adjacent its lower end has a rearwardly facing bore, and the trigger just below its pivotal point has a forwardly facing bore, and these bores receive the opposite ends of a sear spring 42 which is in the form of a, short coiled wire. The sear spring bears against the sear at a point which is at greater distance from the pivot of the sear than the distance between the pivot of the trigger and the point at which the spring bears on the trigger so that the spring always tends to urge the lower end of the sear forwardly into hammer holding position, and through the sear, the trigger into unpulled posi tion. The spring urges the upper end of the trigger against the rear face of the sear above the pivotal point of the latter so that loose play between the trigger and the sear is prevented. It may be stated here that the sear and trigger are both substantially balanced on their pivots, this being of advantage in that in case the gun is jarred or shocked as, for example, if the gun were dropped on its butt, the sear would not be jarred loose from the cooked hammer.

As: many changes could be made in the above construction and many apparently widely different embodiments of this invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

It is also to be understood that the language used in the following claims is intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein described and all statements of the scope of the invention which, as a matter of language, might be said to fall therebetween.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a firing mechanism, a trigger plate, a hammer pivoted at one end on said trigger plate and having a sear notch on its other end, a first pin extending through and journaled in said hammer adjacent the pivot thereof and having diametrically disposed openings, a second pin journaled in said trigger plate rearwardly of said hammer and also having diametrically disposed openings, two guide rods respectively disposed to opposite sides of said hammer and having their forward ends extending into the openings in the first pin and their rear ends slidably extending through the openings in said second pin, and a main spring about each guide rod between said pins.

2. In a firing mechanism, a trigger plate, a hammer pivoted at one end to said plate and having on its opposite end a sear notch, a pin carried by said hammer adjacent the pivotal point thereof and having to each side of said hammer a diametrically disposed opening, a second pin supported by said trigger plate rearwardly of the hammer and having openings aligned with said first mentioned openings, main spring guide rods one to each side of said hammer and having their forward ends extending into said first mentioned openings and their rear ends slidablymounted in the last mentioned openings, and main springs about said guide rods and between said pins, said pins being respectively journaled in said hammer and trigger plate whereby the same may turn about their axes to accommodate swinging movement of the guide rods during cooking and firing movements of the hammer.

3. In a firing mechanism, a trigger plate having a pair of transversely aligned forwardly facing open bearings, a hammer pivoted adjacent one end to said trigger plate and having a sear notch on its other end, a pin journaled in said hammer adjacent the pivotal point thereof, a pin located in said bearings, said pins each, having a diametrically disposed opening to each side of the plane of the hammer, a pair of guide rods andhaving a scar notch on its other end, projec- I tions extending laterally to opposite sides of the hammer adjacent the pivot thereof, a member located rearwardly of the hammer and having openings therethrough, a pair of guide rods disposed to opposite sides of said hammer and bear ing at their forward ends against said projections and having their rear ends slidably extending through said openings, a main spring carried by each guide rod and disposed between said projections and member, a sear disposed behind said hammer in the plane thereof and between said guide rods, and a trigger behind said sear and between said guide rods.

5. In a firing mechanism, a trigger plate, a hammer pivoted at one end to the trigger plate and having a sear notch on its other end, a pin extending laterally through and journaled in said hammer adjacent the pivot thereof, a second pin journaled in said trigger plate rearwardly of the hammer and having two diametrically disposed openings, a pair of guide rods having their forward ends abutting against said first mentioned pin and having their rear ends slidably mounted in said openings, a main spring about each guide rod and interposed between said pins, a sear behind said hammer and pivoted on said second mentioned pin, and a trigger pivoted to said trigger plate behind said sear.

6. In a firing mechanism, a trigger plate, a hammer pivoted at one end to said plate and having a sear notch on its other end, a sear located in the plane of and disposed behind said hammer and pivoted between its ends on said trigger plate, said sear having below its pivot point a tooth arranged to engage said notch to hold the hammer in cocked position, a trigger behind said sear and pivoted to said trigger plate at a point below the pivot of the sear, said trigger having an abutment with the sear at a point above the pivot of the latter but closer to said pivot than the distance between said pivot and said tooth, and an expansion spring interposed between said sear and trigger for urging the sear into hammer abutment position and the trigger into sear engaging position, said spring bearing against said sear at a point which is at greater distance from the pivot of the sear than the distance between the pivot of the trigger and the point at which the spring bears against the trigger.

VAL A. BROWNING.

REFERENCES CITED The following referenlces are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 435,334 Tonks Aug. 26, 1890 545,708 Mason Sept. 3, 1895 918,447 Hepburn Apr. 13, 1909 1,021,988 Lewis Apr, 2, 1912 1,711,874. Brinkerhofi May 7, 1929 1,839,586 Pollard Jan. 5, 193 2,289,158 Williams July '7, 1942 2,352,191 Garand June 27, 1944 2,361,519 Williams Oct. 31, 1944 2,375,721 Woodhull May 8, 1945 

